The Buffalo Bisons today announced the installation of two exciting new features to Coca-Cola Field that will greatly enhance the fan experience at Coca-Cola Field; a 120- Speaker Distributed Sound System and a pair of 50-foot Full-Video LED Message Boards on the ballpark's club-level façade. Both are a direct result of a strong public-private partnership that exists between the team and the City of Buffalo.

The two projects combined represent a half-million dollar investment into the home of the Buffalo Bisons and ensures Coca-Cola Field's standing as one of the marquee ballparks in all of minor league baseball. The new state-of-the-art Distributed Sound System was approved and funded by the City of Buffalo's Capital Program to replace the outdated 26-year old centralized sound system that had been in place at Coca-Cola Field. The new LED Message Boards that replace the antiquated club-level tri-vision boards were funded by Bisons owners Bob and Mindy Rich at a cost of over $225,000. Since Coca-Cola Field opened in 1988, the Bisons have invested over $23 million in various improvements to the ballpark.

"Providing the absolute best ballpark experience has always been our number one goal and these two additions are great compliments to the action on the field," said Jonathan A. Dandes, President of Rich Baseball Operations. "The sound system will allow us to reach every fan in the ballpark with crisp and clear music and public address announcements, while the new message boards will be loaded with timely statistical and player information to enhance the baseball experience."

"The public-private partnership that has existed between the Bisons, the City of Buffalo and the County of Erie has been instrumental to the success of sharing the great Bisons Baseball Experience with our fans," added Dandes.

"Coca-Cola Field is one of the biggest minor league baseball stadiums in the country and the main venue for many other great events that draw thousands of people to downtown Buffalo each year," said Mayor Byron W. Brown. "As a result of yet another great partnership between the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Bisons, Coca-Cola Field is gearing up for some major improvements that will further improve the fan experience. I'm proud that the city's commitment of over $300,000 will result in a new state-of-the-art sound system that will deliver crisp and clear audio throughout the stadium."

About the new 120-Speaker Distributed Sound System
The sounds of Coca-Cola Field will now be as clear as the crack of the bat and the pop of a glove on the field. The CannonDesign distributed sound system features a total of 120 Community Speakers located throughout the seating bowl at Coca-Cola Field to provide uniform and intelligible music and announcements. The previous system, which has been exposed to the elements for 26 years, had speakers located inside the centerfield scoreboard and all sounds were greatly affected by the weather before reaching the fans. This new system has just three speakers in the scoreboard and 117 throughout the rest of the stadium, enhancing the game-day experience of fans in any area of Coca-Cola Field.

About the new LED Club-Level Message Boards
The perfect compliments to the BisonsTV HD scoreboard, the two LED Message Board Displays will immerse fans with real-time game statistics, up-to-the-second out of town scores and key club promotional material throughout games at Coca-Cola Field. Manufactured by Daktronics using 20mm pixel pitch LED Technology, each display will be approximately 50 ft. long by 2.5 ft. high and will be fixed on the club level façade. In addition, each message board will include a digital clock and will have the game's score available at all times.

About Daktronics, Inc.
Daktronics has strong leadership positions in, and is the world's largest supplier of, large screen video displays, electronic scoreboards, computer-programmable displays, digital billboards, and control systems. The company excels in the control of large display systems, including those that require integration of multiple complex displays showing real-time information, graphics, animation and video. Daktronics designs, manufactures, markets and services display systems for customers around the world, in sport, business and transportation applications. For more information, visit the company's World Wide Web site at: http://www.daktronics.com, e-mail the company at sales@daktronics.com, call (605) 692-0200 or toll-free (800) 325-8766 in the United States or write to the company at 331 32nd Ave. PO Box 5128 Brookings, S.D. 57006-5128.

-the herd-

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.